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French Polynesian Youth Share the Greater Love of Jesus Christ

Catholic organizer Tehei Boniface recounts the process of building the event together and witnessing its impact. He observed sincere sharing in the tents and, after weeks of preparation, saw youth perform with joy and engagement. He credits God as the true architect and describes the day as a unifying, praiseful experience.
Tehei Boniface (Catholic Church): โ€œI experienced a unique moment organizing this event. Everyone contributed their stone and cement to build this project of faith. Letโ€™s not forget that God is the true architect. That day, we were all lights in a world sometimes darkened by hate. What joy to see youth in our churches still strongly believing in our Lord Jesus Christ. The tents were sincere spaces of expression. As I passed through, I saw in the youthโ€™s faces a simple and deep joy of being together. As for the concert . . . it was a true moment of praise. After weeks of preparation, seeing our youth on stage, engaged and joyful, was a huge blessing. Thank you, Lord, for this breath of unity.โ€
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๐Ÿ‘ค Church Leaders (Local) ๐Ÿ‘ค Youth ๐Ÿ‘ค Church Members (General)
Faith Gratitude Jesus Christ Music Service Unity

A Voyage into the Sea

A person's first dive feels like visiting a new planet, where everything initially appears dull green. When a light is used at depth, vivid colors appear, showing how sunlight does not penetrate deeply enough to reveal them.
A first dive is usually a thrilling surprise. When you finally reach the new planet in your sea voyage, everything is a dull green. Where are the vivid colors? A diver learns that the rays of the sun donโ€™t shine down to this planet brightly enough to bring out colors, but shining a light at this depth is like instant color.
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๐Ÿ‘ค Other
Light of Christ Revelation

President Spencer W. Kimball

After throat cancer surgery that damaged his vocal cords, Spencer W. Kimball was being wheeled back to his room under anesthesia. Hearing an orderly profane the Lordโ€™s name, he softly asked him to stop because he loved the Lord; the orderly apologized.
In the spring of 1950, he began to worry more about an annoying hoarseness. Cancer was diagnosed, and he was operated on. Doctors removed all of one and part of the other vocal cord, which would leave him with a raspy voice.
Under total anesthesia after having been operated on, he was being wheeled back to his room. Still drugged, Spencer sensed his table stop by an elevator and heard the orderly, angry at something, profaning the Lordโ€™s name. Half-conscious, he managed to say, โ€œPlease donโ€™t say that. I love Him more than anything in this world.โ€ The orderly answered softly, โ€œI shouldnโ€™t have said that. Iโ€™m sorry.โ€
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๐Ÿ‘ค General Authorities (Modern) ๐Ÿ‘ค Other
Adversity Faith Health Reverence Testimony

600 Kilometers of Faith

At the 2013 Kolwezi district conference, the district president invited the Kinkondja brethren to share testimonies in priesthood meeting and the Sunday session. Despite arriving weary, by the end of the conference they and the congregation felt renewed and filled with Godโ€™s love.
That Kolwezi district conference in 2013 was memorable for all involved. The district president asked the Kinkondja brethren, to share their powerful testimonies in priesthood meeting and in the Sunday session of conference. They had arrived very tired and very early on Saturday morning. By the end of the conference, theyโ€”and all who heard their stories and their testimoniesโ€”left refreshed, fulfilled, and feeling Godโ€™s love in their hearts.
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๐Ÿ‘ค Church Leaders (Local) ๐Ÿ‘ค Church Members (General)
Faith Love Priesthood Testimony

A large group of cousins traveled from several states to reunite as a family. During their reunion, they visited the Mormon Battalion Visitorsโ€™ Center in California together.
Cousins
Benjamin, Bryant, Katharine, and Andrew V.; Julia, Nathan, and David J.; Stephen, Callison, and Bensen J.; and Brigham and Brooklyn T. are all cousins. They gathered from their homes in Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, and Arizona for a family reunion. Together they went to the Mormon Battalion Visitorsโ€™ Center in California.
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๐Ÿ‘ค Children ๐Ÿ‘ค Church Members (General)
Family

Church History: A Source of Strength and Inspiration

Facing expulsion, Brigham Young sought the Lordโ€™s will and was told the Saints should stay in Nauvoo to finish the temple. Despite homes being burned and preparations to leave, they completed enough of the temple to perform endowments and sealings before the trek west.
When Joseph Smith died, the walls of the Nauvoo Temple were less than halfway done, and soon it became apparent to President Brigham Young (1801โ€“77) that the Saints would again be driven out. So he asked the Lord: โ€œShould we stay here and finish the temple, knowing that we will have to abandon it almost as soon as itโ€™s done, or should we go now?โ€ The answer came clearly, โ€œStayโ€ (see Brigham Young diary, Jan. 24, 1845, Church Archives; Ronald K. Esplin, โ€œFire in His Bones,โ€ Ensign, Mar. 1993, 46). The ordinances of the endowment and of sealing were so important that the Saints needed to stay.

And so for the next year, they poured all they had into the temple. Toward the end, their homes were being burned around Nauvoo, and the Saints were preparing to go west just as they were finishing the temple. In December 1845, enough of the temple was completed that the Saints could dedicate part of it, give endowments to those who were worthy, and seal husbands and wives to each other.

Over the next few months, they worked around the clock to prepare everyone spiritually for the great trek west. To me itโ€™s profound and sacred that I am sealed by that same power to my wife, children, parents, and generations who have gone before and generations yet unborn. That is what the Restoration has made possible.
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๐Ÿ‘ค Early Saints
Adversity Apostle Covenant Family Joseph Smith Ordinances Prayer Revelation Sacrifice Sealing Temples The Restoration

The Woodcutting Service Missionary

In Oslo, the authorโ€™s main assignment is with Operation Wood, a decades-old charity that processes donated timber. Volunteers, including the author, cut and split the wood, then from October to March deliver it with the help of the Lions Club to families needing heat. They deliver about 160,000 kilos of firewood each winter.
In my service, I carry out work for charities and private individuals. In our service mission, we try to find projects that the missionaries themselves have an interest in and have skills in. My main assignment based in Oslo, is called Operation Wood (Operasjon Ved). It is a charity that goes back more than 50 years. Every year, Oslo municipality receives a certain amount of timber donated from Lรธvenskjold, which owns large forests around Oslo. Oslo municipality provides a place to work, and volunteers who come and cut, dry and split the wood. The volunteers mostly consist of some retired gentlemen and me.
From October to March, with the help of the Lions Club, we drive out to families or individuals that need help with heating during the winter. During this period, we deliver approximately 160,000 kilos of firewood.
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๐Ÿ‘ค Missionaries ๐Ÿ‘ค Other
Charity Kindness Ministering Missionary Work Service

The Way of the Master

A narrator repeatedly postpones visiting an old friend named Jim, assuming there will be time later. Lifeโ€™s busyness causes distance to grow until a telegram arrives announcing Jimโ€™s death. The poem laments the lost opportunity to show friendship and care.
A poet set to verse the sorrow of opportunities forever lost:
Around the corner I have a friend,
In this great city that has no end;
Yet days go by, and weeks rush on,
And before I know it, a year is gone,
And I never see my old friendโ€™s face,
For Life is a swift and terrible race.
He knows I like him just as well
As in the days when I rang his bell
And he rang mine.
We were younger then,
And now we are busy, tired men:
Tired with playing a foolish game,
Tired with trying to make a name.
โ€œTo-morrow,โ€ I say, โ€œI will call on Jim,
Just to show that Iโ€™m thinking of him.โ€
But to-morrow comesโ€”and to-morrow goes,
And the distance between us grows and grows.
Around the corner!โ€”yet miles away โ€ฆ
โ€œHereโ€™s a telegram, sir,โ€
โ€œJim died to-day.โ€And thatโ€™s what we get, and deserve in the end:
Around the corner, a vanished friend.
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๐Ÿ‘ค Friends
Agency and Accountability Death Friendship Grief Pride

Thereโ€™s Such a Thing as Joey

After a hard day and a fight at Barneyโ€™s, Rulon poured out his feelings to his mother and confessed how deeply he needed a dog. When she began repeating old reasons against it, he said, โ€œIโ€™m Rulon. And Iโ€™m a different kind of boy,โ€ which moved her to agree. The next day they bought a puppy, and even his brothers came to accept and love the new dog.
Youโ€™d have to have been me that day, lying on my bunk bed, before you could feel how I wanted a dog. Iโ€™d sneaked into the house and was lying there for about an hour before Mother knew. She stood in my bedroom doorway for a minute or so before she came over and lay down beside me and asked, โ€œWhatโ€™s the matter, son?โ€

Sometimes you can say, โ€œOh, nothing,โ€ when Mother asks that. And other times you canโ€™t. This was one of those other times. It was as if she had her arms around me and was looking into my eyes with all her might. Only she was just lying there beside me, waiting.

So I told her all about how Iโ€™d got into a fight up at Barneyโ€™s, and Tom and Scott said if I couldnโ€™t play fair I could just go home. So I went. Talking about it to my mom made me cry. So while I was at it I told her what the real trouble was. โ€œAll this wouldnโ€™t have happened,โ€ I bawled, โ€œif I only had a dog.โ€

Mother didnโ€™t ask me whether or not Iโ€™d really been playing fair and what a dog had to do with it. She just lay there very still and listened. So I said some more. I told her that I hated school and that nobody liked me. I asked her how she would like to be seven years old and dumb and ugly and awkward and have people laugh at her when she used big words. I said I didnโ€™t fit in this world anyplace, and God must have sent me to the wrong planet. The more I talked the more things I thought of. It was as wild and wonderful as any of my stories about Joey, and I donโ€™t know when Iโ€™ve enjoyed howling so loud and feeling so miserable. Finally, I blurted out something I hadnโ€™t really meant to say. โ€œBesides,โ€ I yelled, โ€œThereโ€™s no such thing as Joey!โ€

Motherโ€™s eyes filled with tears, and I was so sorry. I stopped crying right off and said quickly, โ€œPlease donโ€™t tell Daddyโ€”heโ€™d be just sick.โ€ That was a lucky thing to say because it made Mother smile right through her tears. And it struck me that this was the time to ask about a dog.

โ€œMother,โ€ I said, wiping my eyes, โ€œIโ€™ll do anything in all my life if youโ€™ll only get me a dog. Iโ€™ll do housecleaning forever. Iโ€™ll practice my piano lesson night and day. Iโ€™ll never ask for any more candy. Iโ€™ll do anything!โ€ I was trying hard not to cry again because my mom never gives us what we bawl for. โ€œI need a dog to love,โ€ I whispered, โ€œand most of all I need a dog to love me back.โ€

Mother started to explain once more about dogs in the city, and when she got to where she says that Tom and Scott had both wanted dogs, my mind was jumping with words, and I hoped the right ones would come out. And they did. They were magic words that changed everything.

โ€œMother,โ€ I said, โ€œIโ€™m Rulon. And Iโ€™m a different kind of boy.โ€

She stopped right in the middle of what she was saying, and this time she did put her arms around me and looked into my eyes with all her might. She looked for so long I could hardly breathe. Then she said quietly, โ€œRulon, we will get you a dog.โ€

We got him the next day at a pet shopโ€”a brown and white Pomeranian puppy, round and furry, with great, dark eyes and a waggly tail. You should have seen Tom and Scott when we brought him home.

โ€œSpoiled kid! How come Rulon gets a dog?โ€ they said almost together.

Mother seemed baffled for an answer, so I tried the words that had worked once before.

โ€œBecause Iโ€™m a different kind of boy,โ€ I answered.

Their mouths dropped open. And they just stood there staring at me and my pup. Then Scott said to Tom, โ€œHe can say that again.โ€ And they both snickered. So I did say it again.

โ€œIโ€™m a different kind of boy,โ€ I sang out, โ€œand Joey is a different kind of dog. Heโ€™s really mine. All mine. But you can pet him. And maybe when you say three times, โ€˜Thereโ€™s such a thing as Joeyโ€™ he will be your dog too.โ€

They werenโ€™t snickering anymore. They were laughing a real laugh, and I laughed too all the while they were saying, โ€œThereโ€™s such a thing as Joey. Thereโ€™s such a thing as Joey. Thereโ€™s such a thing as Joey.โ€
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๐Ÿ‘ค Children ๐Ÿ‘ค Parents ๐Ÿ‘ค Other
Children Family Friendship Love Parenting

Books! Books! Books!

A poor, kingdomless prince befriends a black horse. The horse saves the prince by helping him complete impossible tasks set by the evil Sea King, and then asks the prince to slay it.
The Black Horse Based on an ancient Celtic adventure fairy tale. A poor, kingdomless prince befriends the black horse, which then saves the princeโ€™s life by helping him perform impossible tasks set by the evil Sea King. Then the black horse asks the prince to slay it!Marianna Mayer6โ€“10 years
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๐Ÿ‘ค Other
Adversity Children Courage Friendship Sacrifice

Mountains to Climb

As a young man, the speaker worked building house foundations using picks and shovels. He learned the need for patient curing and careful reinforcement with metal bars. The experience illustrates the effort and patience required to build lasting foundations.
As a young man I worked with a contractor building footings and foundations for new houses. In the summer heat it was hard work to prepare the ground for the form into which we poured the cement for the footing. There were no machines. We used a pick and a shovel. Building lasting foundations for buildings was hard work in those days.
It also required patience. After we poured the footing, we waited for it to cure. Much as we wanted to keep the jobs moving, we also waited after the pour of the foundation before we took away the forms.
And even more impressive to a novice builder was what seemed to be a tedious and time-consuming process to put metal bars carefully inside the forms to give the finished foundation strength.
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๐Ÿ‘ค Young Adults
Adversity Employment Patience

They Knew Joseph

Josiah Quincy, a Harvard graduate and future mayor of Boston, visited Joseph Smith in Nauvoo. Impressed by Josephโ€™s presence and leadership, Quincy described him as a phenomenon born to lead. He predicted Joseph would exert a powerful influence on his countrymen.
Many non-Mormons who met Joseph were impressed. For example, Josiah Quincy, a Harvard graduate and soon-to-be mayor of Boston, visited Joseph Smith in Nauvoo. He said Joseph was a โ€œphenomenon to be explained,โ€ a man born to lead, โ€œof commanding appearance โ€ฆ whom it seemed natural to obey.โ€ He said that future textbooks might refer to Joseph Smith as exerting โ€œpowerful influence upon the destinies of his countrymen.โ€1
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๐Ÿ‘ค Joseph Smith ๐Ÿ‘ค Other
Joseph Smith

Our Refined Heavenly Home

The author briefly met Audrey Hepburn during the filming of My Fair Lady. She described playing a soot-covered flower girl but noted she still wore her perfume, remembering inwardly that she was a lady. The account illustrates that genuine refinement is internal.
I once visited briefly with the great actress Audrey Hepburn while she was making the movie My Fair Lady. She spoke of the opening scene in the movie in which she depicted a modest, unpolished flower girl. Her face had been besmirched with charcoal to make her seem part of her surroundings. โ€œBut,โ€ she said with a twinkle in her eye, โ€œI was wearing my perfume. Inside I still knew I was a lady.โ€ It doesnโ€™t take expensive perfume to make a lady, but it does require cleanliness, modesty, self-respect, and pride in oneโ€™s appearance.
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๐Ÿ‘ค Other
Movies and Television Pride Virtue

Stone or Bread?

The author met Bob at BYU and, unsure about marrying him, prayed for confirmation but received neither a burning bosom nor a stupor of thought. After months of seeking an answer without success, she chose to marry him in the Alberta Temple and later realized she needed to make the commitment without divine guarantees. She reflects that Godโ€™s silence helped her grow, though she acknowledges most should seek the sustaining witness of the Spirit before marriage.
Both before and since my marriage, I have had more help through prayer, in matters small and great, mundane and dramatic, than I can possibly list. And yet, when faced with the most important decision of my life, I could feel no help from himโ€”no answer, no assistance, not even any sense of his spirit.
I met Bob when I was a sophomore at Brigham Young University. Without him, I found myself lonely in a crowd of my good friends; but with him, I recognized differences in our life-styles that could lead to problems in marriage.
When Bob asked me to marry him, not trusting my own decision, I asked God to confirm it for me. โ€œWith all my soul I asked Him to give me a โ€œburning feelingโ€ (see D&C 9:8) in my heart if marrying Bob were right, or a โ€œstupor of thoughtโ€ (see D&C 9:9) if it were wrong; I experienced neither the burning feeling nor the stupor of thought. Wondering if my faith had been insufficient, I rephrased the question, asking if it was right to break off the engagement; again, I experienced neither burning nor stupor.
Twenty-one months after we had met, I married Bob in the Alberta Temple without receiving any recognizable assurance that doing so was right or that not doing so would be better. I made my own decision. Committing myself to a relationship with risks and without any guarantees except the promises we made to each other before the most important witnesses. That commitment and those promises were mine, and I know now that I needed to make them without commandment to do so.
I know now that I wanted God to take all the risk out of my marriage, and hoped that he would guarantee a good relationship with my husband. Instead, God required that I solve problems and make the commitment on my own. In the process of growing closer together, Bob and I have found adventure and sorrow, growth, identity, and a great joy. Most people need a positive answer that their choice of partner is right; I needed an answer of silence so I would grow in the ways I have mentioned. My situation is probably very rare. In most instances Iโ€™m certain it would be very unwise to enter into an eternal marriage covenant without the sustaining testimony of the Holy Spirit.
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๐Ÿ‘ค Young Adults ๐Ÿ‘ค Church Members (General)
Agency and Accountability Covenant Dating and Courtship Doubt Faith Holy Ghost Marriage Prayer Revelation Sealing Temples Testimony

Presidents and Their Pets

President Theodore Rooseveltโ€™s family kept many pets, and his son Kermit secretly kept a kangaroo rat under his bed. President Roosevelt cautioned Kermit not to worry his mother, explaining she would not sleep well knowing a rat was in the house.
Of all the presidential families, none had a greater collection of pets than the family of President Theodore Roosevelt. His six children, ranging in age from four to seventeen, were true animal lovers.
Pets were kept everywhere. There were horses, cats, dogs, guinea pigs, rabbits, squirrels, birds, and raccoons. Twelve-year-old Kermit even kept a small kangaroo rat under his bed, but it was kept a secret. โ€œDonโ€™t worry your mother,โ€ President Roosevelt cautioned his son. โ€œThat animal may be clean and harmless, but your mother would not sleep well knowing there was a rat in the house.โ€
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๐Ÿ‘ค Parents ๐Ÿ‘ค Children ๐Ÿ‘ค Other
Children Family Parenting

Ministering with Gratitude

At a devotional centered on preparing for temple worship, missionary Elder Baylor Johnsen addressed the congregation. When he said they were there to help them get to the temple, a woman named Aribo cried tears of joy. He felt the Saviorโ€™s love for the people and left knowing God loves all His children, even on remote islands.
Later in this visit, Elder Tune and President Kendall trained local Church leaders and buoyed up the Latter-day Saints at a devotional which focused on preparing the Saints for temple worship.
The people of Kiribati have long hoped for a temple on their land and look forward to the construction of the Tarawa Kiribati Temple, which was announced in 2020.
Young full-time missionary, Elder Baylor Johnsen, recalls the reaction of one of the members at the devotional. He said, โ€œI stood up to address the gathering. When I started by explaining, โ€˜We are here to help you get to the templeโ€™ a woman named Aribo began to cry tears of joy. As I saw the smiling faces of her and others, I felt the love of our Saviour for each of them. I left that island with the sure knowledge that God knows and loves all His children, even on the most remote islands of the sea.โ€
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๐Ÿ‘ค Missionaries ๐Ÿ‘ค Church Members (General) ๐Ÿ‘ค Church Leaders (Local)
Diversity and Unity in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Hope Jesus Christ Love Ministering Missionary Work Temples Testimony

โ€œHe Would Deliver Usโ€

Gasoline was scarce after the quake, with long waits and little availability. While evacuating missionaries to Niigata, the mission president drove for 18 hours on a single tank, with the gauge reading โ€œfullโ€ the entire time. As they neared Niigata, the gauge suddenly dropped to โ€œempty.โ€
Following the earthquake there was a run on gasoline. The fuel trucks that could maneuver over broken roads traveled very slowly, resulting in three-hour waits for gasoline, if any was available at all. But the Lord provided for us in miraculous ways. For example, while evacuating sisters and elders to safety in Niigata on the other side of the island, we realized we had driven 18 hours on a single tank, with a gas gauge that always registered โ€œfull.โ€ As we neared Niigata, the gas gauge immediately dropped to โ€œempty.โ€
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๐Ÿ‘ค Missionaries ๐Ÿ‘ค Church Leaders (Local)
Adversity Emergency Response Faith Miracles Service

Address Given by President Spencer W. Kimball at the Welfare Services Meeting Saturday, April 6, 1974

He frequently receives numerous requests for charity from around the world. He decided to set those appeals aside and increase his own fast offerings instead, emphasizing that members should be very generous when able. He encourages giving far more than the cost of skipped meals when circumstances permit.
I donโ€™t know if you receive them, but every week, every mail, I receive two or three or a dozen applications for charity, from all over the world saying: โ€œPlease send us money to help these poor people that are starving and homeless.โ€ Now then our work should go to our own people first, of course, and I have recently made up my mind. I just throw them into a pile and think, โ€œWell, there is another $5.00 that could go to the fast offerings.โ€ I think we should be very generous and give, instead of the amount we saved by our two meals of fasting, perhaps much, much moreโ€”ten times more where we are in a position to do it. I know there are some who couldnโ€™t.
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๐Ÿ‘ค General Authorities (Modern) ๐Ÿ‘ค Church Members (General)
Charity Fasting and Fast Offerings Sacrifice Service

Following Jesus Together

Matias felt the Holy Ghost testify that the Book of Mormon is true. He excitedly told his mother about it. She hugged him, and he felt very happy.
I know that the Book of Mormon is true because the Holy Ghost spoke to me. I was excited to tell my mom. She hugged me tightly, and I was very happy.
Matias M., age 10, Cundinamarca, Colombia
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๐Ÿ‘ค Children ๐Ÿ‘ค Parents
Book of Mormon Children Faith Family Holy Ghost Revelation Testimony

With My Own Eyes

A visually impaired person, able to see only 10 percent, sits on a hill and senses a nearby bird. They catch a rare glimpse of the bird spreading its wings and are moved to tears. Reflecting, they realize their limitation helps them value beauty and develop compassion, accepting it as God's will. They pray in gratitude for the brief gift of seeing the bird.
I can see only 10 percent of what is around meโ€”mostly objects that are big and that move slowly. But that changed for a few moments one afternoon.
No one seemed to be around as I sat on a shady hill. The grass beneath me covered the earth like a green carpet, and I savored the smell of nearby roses. I knelt to touch each flower, thankful that I could see a small part of Godโ€™s lovely world.
Suddenly, I sensed movement close to me. Then I heard a chirp about a foot away. It must be a bird, I thought, wishing I could see it. I had never seen a real bird, just pictures of them in books. But I never would: they were so small, and they flew so swiftly.
My pulse quickened as I caught a glimpse of something brown. I strained my eyes until I could tell that the object was a bird. I stared in awe as the bird spread his wings majestically before me. I held my breath, not wanting to scare him away.
He lingered only briefly. As he disappeared into the blue sky, I wept freely. I had seen something so exquisite that I wanted to see more.
But soon another thought passed through my mind. If I could fully see, I might not value every priceless image as I now did. I might not see inner beauty as easily, nor have the compassion I had learned from my own suffering. It was Godโ€™s gentle reminder of his will for me. I could serve him best as I was.
I dried my eyes. โ€œThank you, Lord,โ€ I prayed, โ€œfor letting me see a bird.โ€
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๐Ÿ‘ค Other
Charity Creation Disabilities Faith Gratitude Prayer